Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 4,310 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 430.8% in the 1st quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 439.3% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $176,689.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,233.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $153.02. 4,828,650 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,944,584. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.48 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $179.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.93%.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.